Trump vs Biden?! Is that Sovereigntists vs Globalists?!
How about Pro-Zionists vs Pro-Palestinians?!
Is there such a thing as the Axis of Trump-Netanyahu-Orban-Putin vs. Pro-Globalists?!
Then where does China fit into this? Maybe somewhere in-between. Where’s Ukraine? It is supported by Israel, but it is against Russia. Where is the EU? A mixed bag pro-Israel, pro-Palestinians, anti-Russia, pro-Russia…
Trump’s first appointed National Security Advisor is Gen. Michael Flynn, pictured at the same dinner table with Putin in Moscow. Collusion? No collusion? High level appointees in his administration, all staunchly pro-Israel: Nikki Haley, Bolton, Cohen, etc. Netanyahu, while visiting the US, sleeps in Trump’s son in law Kushner’s bedroom, that’s his “senior adviser’s” bedroom. Collusion? No collusion?
So we had four years of Trump and four years of anti-Trump’s denunciation of his collusion with Putin (Russia). Will we have another four years of Trump and four years of anti-Trump’s denunciation of his collusion with Netanyahu (Israel)?
The way things are going right now that’s quite possible.
Ed. Note: Is the answer for our future a Unipolar World Order? A Multipolar World Order? Or better yet No World Order? A Unipolar World Order means Full Spectrum Domination by one power – no ifs, ands or buts. We all are enslaved to the one supreme leader. A Multipolar World Order means that some of us are enslaved by one power and some others are enslaved by another power. It results in a constant state of war, conflict, instability, insecurity for all the subordinates. A No World Order is a world in permanent disorder.
What is your choice?
Mexico President AMLO: “I don’t know if it’s CIA or DEA but I’m facing a vulgar and slanderous campaign… the US has no control: CIA has its policy, DEA has its policy, State Dept. has its policy, the White House has its policy, the Judiciary has its policy … and all we ask for them is to respect us.” https://twitter.com/upholdreality/status/1785070791283068970
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Is Moldova a new battleground in Russia’s war?
by Orysia Lutsevych and Valeriu Pasha viaChatham House
Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, concern has grown that neighbouring Moldova would be next in Moscow’s bid to regain control over the former Soviet republics. Moldova’s pro-European leaders have long been aware of Russian efforts to destabilize their country. With two key polls in Moldova this year, those efforts are expected to intensify.
Fuelling that expectation is Transnistria, a region that broke away from Moldova around 30 years ago with Russia’s support. In February, pro-Russian separatist leaders of Transnistria issued an appeal to Moscow for protection. That echoed similar ‘appeals’ from inside Ukraine which set in motion the illegal Russian annexations of its territories: the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in 2022.
But just how vulnerable is Moldova to Russian encroachment? Is its home-grown resilience improving? What tactics is Moscow already deploying in the country and how are Moldova’s leaders countering these?
How vulnerable is Moldova to Russian interference?
Moldova is sandwiched between Ukraine to the east and Romania to the west. Along Moldova’s eastern edge runs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldova does not share a border with Russia.
Before 2014, Russia could access Transnistria by transiting Ukraine or via Moldova’s port on the River Danube. But these routes are now closed, and Chisinau has introduced tough checks on Russian military personnel moving through the capital’s airport.
Previous revisionist speeches from the Russian president, the Kremlin’s actions and official doctrines all suggest that Russia sees Moldova as ‘a historical Russian territory’
Later in 2024, Moldova is due to hold presidential elections and a referendum about its future membership of the European Union.
Both are opportunities for Moscow to strengthen its influence over the country and to subvert Moldova’s possible integration into the EU. In perhaps another parallel to Ukraine, the EU decided to open accession negotiations with Moldova in December 2023.
Although Vladimir Putin did not refer to Transnistria in his 29 February address, previous revisionist speeches from the Russian president, the Kremlin’s actions and official doctrines all suggest that Russia sees Moldova as ‘a historical Russian territory’.
This reflects Putin’s neo-imperial ambitions to restore control over former Soviet republics and push the European and US presence out of eastern Europe.
Ousting the pro-European Moldovan president Maya Sandu in favour of the pro-Russian opposition is an active part of that strategy, according to authorities in Chisinau, the Moldovan capital. Election interference is among the areas where Moldova is vulnerable to Russian malign influence.
Research by Chatham House suggests that Moscow is also targeting the Moldovan public information space with toxic disinformation and is seeking ways to undermine the country’s social cohesion.
Moldova was chosen as a focus country to test a new methodology – the Resilience Barometer – devised by Chatham House for measuring societies’ resilience to Russian malign influence. Initial results from a survey of experts for the barometer suggest that Moldova has strong societal support for democracy, but weaker support for EU integration and other alliances.
— A chart from the Chatham House Resilience Barometer.
Another major vulnerability is Moldova’s governance and attempts to tackle corruption, confirmed by low scores in the Resilience Barometer for limiting the influence of kleptocratic groups on state institutions.
These weaknesses could be actively exploited by Russia in the coming months, in the run-up to the referendum on joining the EU and the presidential elections due in October.
How does Russia destabilize Moldova?
With the Russian army bogged down in Ukraine and its failed offensive on Odesa, Moscow is dialling up its non-military methods – also known as ‘hybrid’ measures – to exert more pressure on Moldova. These can include, among others: economic pressure, information operations, cyberattacks, internal destabilization, election interference, corruption and use of proxy groups.
In Moldova, several of these measures are being deployed – notably during the 2023 local elections. Those elections were a prime target for Russian interference.
The head of Moldova’s Information and Security Service said that in 2023 alone, Russia illegally channelled more than $55 million, or almost 0.4 per cent of Moldova’s nominal GDP, into influencing elections and buying votes in the country.
— Valeriu Pasha, Chairman of the WatchDog.md Community, discusses Moldova’s vulnerabilities and policies to strengthen its resilience.
The 2023 local elections highlighted Moldova’s inability to block such interference backed by corrupt oligarchs. Moldovan prosecutors have initiated several criminal cases against the illegal financing of political activities, but the trial process is slow and public trust in the judiciary is low.
Some judges and prosecutors remain loyal to the former leader of the Democratic Party, Vladimir Plahotniuc. He is sanctioned by the US Treasury, which says he retains control over the country’s law enforcement apparatus to target political and business rivals.
Online disinformation is also used by Russian-backed entities to destabilize the country, particularly its democratic processes, according to Moldovan authorities. The operation to undermine the local elections was in part controlled by the 161 Intelligence Training Centre of the Russian Military Intelligence (GRU). Moscow can channel influence through a cohort of openly pro-Russian parties: the Socialists, the Communists, and Ilan Shor’s Renaissance party. It may also be helped by a few alleged ‘Trojan horses’ – prominent individuals who claim support for the EU, but refuse to denounce Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and who push Russian narratives.
It is notable that Yuriy Gudilin, a former officer with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and now an election aid to the mayor of Chisinau, is sanctioned by the US Treasury for attempts to interfere in the 2020 national elections on Russia’s behalf.
An upcoming celebration on World War II Victory Day on 9 May could be a focal point for mass demonstrations against Sandu.
Looking ahead to the next national elections, the Russian-speaking autonomous region of Gagauzia could play an important role, given previous attempts there to stage provocation and stoke separatist sentiments by hosting illegal referendums.
An upcoming celebration on World War II Victory Day on 9 May could be a focal point for mass demonstrations against Sandu.
With this in mind, a meeting on 7 March between the current governor of Gaugazia, Yevgenia Gutsul, and Sergei Kiriyenko, Deputy Chief of Staff of Putin’s administration, is a worrying sign.
Internal Kremlin documents, reviewed by the Washington Post, show that Kiriyenko was responsible for running subversive activities both inside Ukraine and abroad to undermine Western support for Kyiv’s war effort.
How is Moldova boosting its national resilience?
The next few months will be a critical test for Moldova’s internal resilience to Russian aggressive encroachment. The country is working actively to counter Russian influence in several ways, although some gaps remain.
Just over three-quarters (76 per cent) of the experts surveyed for the Chatham House Resilience Barometer agree that Moldova is becoming more resilient to Russian interference. Under Prime Minister Dorin Recean, the government is focusing on increasing societal and institutional resilience against Russian interference.
The new National Security Strategy, for the first time since independence, acknowledges Russia as an existential threat to national security. While this has been obvious since the Russia-orchestrated secessionist war in 1992, no Moldovan leader has dared to state this openly. The new strategy prioritises building societal resilience, strengthening the national army and the civil security sector, and combating Russia’s malign interference in domestic politics.
Another decisive step was to create a new institution responsible for strategic communication and combating disinformation. Its new director, Anna Revenco, a former minister of interior, has pledged to apply a ‘whole of society approach’ to resilience. In parallel, resolute efforts are being made to reduce Moldova’s energy dependence on Russia.
President Sandu has tried to address the lack of public faith in the judiciary’s independence, announcing the of a new court to try major corruption cases. She maintains that some judges have allowed the illegal financing of Russia’s actions in Moldova to continue. The pro-Russian Socialist Party of Moldova (PSRM) alleges that Sandu and her party are themselves attempting to influence the judicial system.
An active group of non-profit organizations and independent media is fighting Russian disinformation but their efforts may be futile if not curbed at the source.
While Moldova is gradually building a strategic vision of how to get rid of Russia’s toxic influence, these solutions will only pay off in the long term. Substantial gaps remain, especially in providing for human security, delivering accountable governance and strengthening social cohesion, as the Resilience Barometer research found.
The country is not helped by an apparent lack of interest among tech giants to limit disinformation on their platforms, including paid electoral ads in Moldova. An active group of non-profit organizations and independent media is fighting Russian disinformation but their efforts may be futile if not curbed at the source.
How could external actors help Moldova in strengthening its resilience?
Whether Transnistria’s appeal to Russia becomes an event that will set in motion a wider destabilizing chain reaction will depend on how effectively the Moldovan government and its partners can counter the Russian efforts.
via The Telegraph
Britain’s NHS Declares Sex is Biological Fact in Landmark Shift Against ‘Gender Ideology’
Changes to the health service’s written constitution proposed by ministers will for the first time ban trans women from female-only wards.
Campaigners for women’s rights welcomed the significant shift to the constitution, which follows accusations that the health service had been captured by woke “gender ideology.”
The move was a “return to common sense and an overdue recognition that women’s wellbeing and safety matter,” women’s rights campaigners added.
The United States is seeking to establish global dictatorship in the digital sphere, said Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at a meeting of the UN General Assembly’s Information Committee.
According to him, conditions are being created for total control over the digital space with the possibility of “disconnecting” any information alternative to the Western mainstream.
Ed. Note: This article confirms what we also believe. The war in Ukraine is far from over; this was just the warm-up phase. As usual, the Western strategy is to move towards the big conflagration in fits and starts. War, no war? Hot and cold. Hopes for peace only to be replaced by more escalation. This is the phase when the Western war machine is testing the enemy, probing it weak spots, wearing down its population, setting in the psychology of the inevitability of war, and, of course, setting up its own war economy.
For the West, the alternative to war, at this point, is an economic wipe out. By starting a new war, they postpone the inevitable while theoretically maintaining a chance of winning.
We haven’t seen anything yet.
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The Iran-Israel clash has served as a catalyst for renewed escalation by Western leaders, and World War III cannot be ruled out
By Timur Fomenko, political analyst, via RT
The events of recent weeks have produced a sudden jolt in Western politics. From a lethargy that was starting to creep into US and western discourse over the Ukraine war, Iran’s attack on Israel suddenly seemed to have had the effect of awakening Ronald Reagan from his grave and leading to a surge of neo-conservativism on steroids, on both sides of the Atlantic.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson did a complete 180-degree U-turn and proclaimed himself a “Reagan Republican” passing a series of aid bills for astronomical overseas spending that he had otherwise blocked for months, as he denounced an “axis of evil.” Along with that, a proposed TikTok ban bill came out of nowhere too and was quickly signed into law.
Then the UK decided to devote its largest ever aid package to Ukraine, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warning of an “axis of authoritarian states” and amplifying ideologically combative rhetoric. At the same time, it was then revealed Biden had sent 300km long range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine despite having pledged not to do so for years, fearing escalation. Finally, EU President Ursula von der Leyen has suddenly dramatically increased economic warfare on China, pushing the European Commission to open probes on scores of Chinese exports. Where exactly did all this come from?
It’s almost as if the US and its allies seized upon the tensions between Iran and Israel in order to “whitewash” their slate and double down on a series of objectives they are otherwise losing public support for, including the war in Ukraine, but also Israel’s invasion of Gaza. One has to wonder if the Israeli attack on the Iranian compound in Damascus, which provoked Tehran’s response, was deliberately staged, coordinated and planned for this purpose. It served the mutually convenient goal of letting both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Western governments off the hook for whatever opposition they had otherwise faced.
It should be abundantly clear now that the current powers that be, in London and Washington, have absolutely no intent of letting up on the wars they have provoked, while also pushing for a potential third one with China, and seem indifferent to the consequences, even if for example, the Israel-Gaza war is shattering the West’s claims of moral superiority. In each case, the stakes are very high, Western foreign policy at large has taken on a very zero-sum and ideological character which bemoans the loss of hegemony, and seeks to uphold it at all costs. It is reactionary to the extent it does not have a vision for improving the world, but wants to take backthe world to the way it was. It is a sense of entitlement and privilege that wants to suppress an emerging multipolarity.
Because of this, it has become impossible for Western leaders to ever consider the concept of compromise in these respective theaters, and they refuse under any circumstances to make concessions which could be deemed strategic. This has produced a position where the only outcome they are willing to accept in Ukraine is what they deem “the defeat of Putin,” and have been subtly escalating ever since, edging ever closer to the point where a “proxy war” becomes a direct one for all intents and purposes. NATO military advisors are already on the ground, and Ukrainian attacks are being guided by NATO intelligence or even coordinated by British admirals.
The media in the West, especially in Britain (there is more dissent in the US) are effectively in war mode. The BBC amplifies non-stop Ukraine propaganda, pushing any claim that will help Kiev irrespective of its empirical worth or evidence, and all voices of dissent have been shut down. It seems evident that the decision may have been made to risk a full-on war with Russia, rather than to consider any negotiation scenario. Thus, the shockwaves from the Iran-Israel saga have been used to pursue a new and sudden round of escalation on every front, which can have only been bolstered by the prospective elections looming in both the US and UK.
Because of this, it is fair to say that the world faces a more dangerous and uncertain outlook than at any point since the end of World War II. This current crop of Western leaders are not pursuing a more restrained and calculated mindset, as seen for most of the Cold War, but an aggressive and evangelistic one that does not prefer stability but affirms hegemony as an absolute right, thus more resembling a pre-1914 world. Because of this, we should draw the conclusion that Western leaders are not truly seeking to avoid war, but are prepared to embrace it if necessary. The British military establishment and the media have long been making noises about conscription. In the US, if Joe Biden wins re-election, we can assume that he will unapologetically escalate on every single front. World War III is no longer a dramatized specter of farfetched panic, but an actual possibility that should not be ruled out.
Ed. Note: It is pretty clear by now that the globalists are not kidding. They want nothing to do with Trump, they want Netanyahu out (because they want to rally the Arabs to their cause), and they want Biden for a second term and most significantly, they are going for WWIII: War by NATO against Russia and war by the collective West against China. Full speed ahead.
Will they succeed?
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by Stephen Bryen via https://weapons.substack.com Dutch Minister of Defense Kasja Ollongren on April 17, 2024, tries out the cockpit of a Dutch F-16s, three of which were delivered to the European F-16 training center in Romania. Training of Ukrainian pilots reportedly is going slowly, suggesting that experienced non-Ukrainian pilots may be needed to fly the sophisticated planes against the Russians in the Ukraine War. Photo: X
NATO is starting to deploy combat troops to Ukraine. Soldiers from Poland, France, the UK, Finland and other NATO members are arriving in larger numbers.
Although Russia says there are over 3,100 mercenaries in Ukraine, these newly arriving troops are not mercenaries. They are in uniform, home country proclaimed via insignia. They mostly are concentrated in the western part of the country, although in some cases they are close to the actual fighting in the east.
NATO is putting out the word these are not combat soldiers but are in Ukraine to operate sophisticated western hardware. But if they are firing at the Russians the only proper way to interpret their presence is that they are playing an active part in the shooting war.
More or less this is the same pattern that the US used when it sent “advisors” to Vietnam. In fact, they were US Special Forces who engaged in combat.
The Biden administration, at least for public consumption, says it opposes sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine. But Biden in truth may be waiting for his reelection before he gives the order for US soldiers to fight in Ukraine. After Biden is reelected, he will have a free hand. The recent passage of the $60 billion air bill for Ukraine signals that Congress will go along with whatever the Biden administration wants to do “fighting the Russians.”
The national security establishment fears a Russian victory in Ukraine. It would constitute a major setback in America’s security strategy and would be a blow, even a fatal one, to NATO.
Meanwhile NATO is far behind Russia in weapons, manpower and industrial might. Furthermore, stockpiles of weapons are very low and equipment supposedly for national defense has been sent to Ukraine, leaving defenses wanting.
The consensus opinion in the US National Security establishment is that Ukraine is losing its war with the Russians and could potentially face the collapse of its army.
There already are reports that some brigades in the Ukrainian armed forces refused orders from their commanders. Those include the 25th Airborne Assault Brigade; the 115th Brigade; the 67th Mechanized Brigade (which abandoned positions in Chasiv Yar) and the 47th Mechanized (which demanded rotation after more than a year on the front lines). These are top Army brigades and not territorial defense units.
The Russians know what is going on and they are targeting foreign forces while also grinding down Ukrainian fighting units, inflicting heavy casualties. The Russians say Ukraine has already lost almost 500,000 troops in the war, and the numbers destroyed in combat grow on a daily basis.
Ukraine is desperate to find new recruits, and it is getting some help from countries where Ukrainian draft-age refugees are hiding out. Lithuania is planning to send Ukrainian draft-age men home. So is Poland.
A report on training of Ukrainian F-16 pilots also is revealing. According to some of the western officers working with the Ukrainians, progress even after a year teaching pilots to operate F-16s has been less than a success. Language barriers and unfamiliarity with western systems and combat tactics, has proven to slow the learning process. Rumors have it that when the F-16s finally begin arriving in Ukraine this summer, the planes are likely to be handled by “retired” pilots from European air forces.
NATO’s plan to try and ward off disaster seems to be to fill in gaps in Ukraine’s forces by importing “advisers,” waiting for the US to commit its army to the battle after the election in November. The Russians know this and are in a race to try and collapse Ukraine’s army before Biden returns to office, if in fact he does. If the Russians are successful, a bigger war in Europe will be avoided. If not, with the introduction of US forces, Europe will be plunged into World War III.
Stephen Bryen served as staff director of the Near East Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.
This article was first published on his Weapons and Strategy Substack and is republished with permission.
Footage is circulating on social networks in which Xi Jinping, before a meeting with the US Secretary of State, asks an assistant:
“When will he leave?”
The conversation did not help improve the relationship. After that no one from the Chinese authorities went to accompany Blinken to the airport. Only US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said goodbye to him.
Blinken appeared offended and told reporters after the trip that the US was ready to increase pressure on China.
That’s the next day: A deadly China tornado rips into power line. Coincidence? Direct Energy? Magnetic Pulse?
A tornado has ripped through China’s Guangdong province, killing five people and injuring 33.
According to local authorities, 141 factory buildings were damaged and hail stones the size of golf balls were seen hitting the ground in the city of Guangzhou.
Elon Musk, the CEO of American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, met with China’s Premier Li Qiang at the State Council in Beijing as the Tesla chief arrives in China for a surprise visit after canceling his visit to India.
Musk dashes to China begging for help with self-drive tech
The Tesla CEO has made a surprise visit to China to try and get permission to transfer data collected in the Asian country abroad to help improve the algorithms for his company’s autonomous driving systems, a source close to the trip said Sunday.
Chinese competitor Xpeng is currently looking to roll similar software to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving tech, which hasstill not been made available to Chinese customers.
Last week Musk ditched plans to meet PM Narendra Modi because he had “very heavy Tesla obligations”.
Is Musk all of a sudden desperate for losing his Tesla business in case of China retaliation?
A growing number of US students have been frustrated by Washington’s support of Israel’s actions in Gaza as a humanitarian disaster continues unfolding in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
A fresh wave of student activism was triggered by the arrest of at least 108 protesters at Columbia University in New York last week, The New York Times said. Police officers and university administrations have clashed with student activists in several states across the country in recent days.
Since April 17, 44 students have been arrested on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; 93 people were held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles; 118 at Emerson College in Boston; 102 at Northeastern University in Boston; and 69 at Arizona State University in Tempe, among others.
ICYMI (In case you missed it): Police assaulted, arrested Emory University economics professor
Footage shows Caroline Fohlin being violently assaulted by state police at the university campus whilst joining students protesting in support of Gaza.
Protestors were reportedly targeted with tear gas and rubber bullets after having accused the university of being “complicit in genocide and police militarization” – referring to the police training center being constructed outside Atlanta.
Georgia state trooper brings away a Pro Palestine protestor … like a bag of potatoes.
Professor and Philosophy Chair Noelle McAfee, seen in handcuffs in the video.
Pro-Palestine protesters arrested on campus — as more college demonstrations in the US are broken up.
Detentions of journalists who dared to film protests of students and teachers in one of the US universities.
The United States sets an example for democratic treatment of members of the press. Now you know how to democratically deal with journalists who film something you don’t like.
Freedom of speech, US university style
Footage from Ohio State University shows the rapidly escalating violence students are facing for expressing their opinions, with at least 41 arrested in last night’s wave of clashes with cops.
Washington loves to brag about its glorious constitution… When it suits them.
And in . . . Germany: Freedom of expression, German style. Watch the hatred, hands over the mouth.
Dutch Minister of Defense Kasja Ollongren on April 17, 2024, tries out the cockpit of a Dutch F-16s, three of which were delivered to the European F-16 training center in Romania. Training of Ukrainian pilots reportedly is going slowly, suggesting that experienced non-Ukrainian pilots may be needed to fly the sophisticated planes against the Russians in the Ukraine War. Photo: X
